1. Technical Field
The field of art to which this invention pertains may be generally located in the class of devices relating to electrical switches. Class 200, Electricity, Circuit Makers and Breakers, United States Patent Office Classification, appears to be the applicable general area of art to which the subject matter similar to this invention has been classified in the past.
2. Background Information
It is known in the Electrical Switch art to provide push-button switches for making and breaking circuits handling moderate current loads for a variety of applications. Push-button switches are used in various products, such as automobiles and other vehicles, tools, electrical appliances, and the like. In the automotive field, push-button switches are used for energizing and de-energizing engine controls systems, various lights, climate controls, and the like. Examples of prior art push-button switches adapted for the aforementioned uses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,204,067; 3,694,603 3,883,710; 4,175,222; 4,288,670 and 4,308,440.
A problem encountered in the prior art push-button switches is that they employ expensive and fragile stamped metal terminals of various shapes. These terminals are of a complex design and due to their smallness, create a very difficult situation for crimping the same to the switch wire leads. As a result, instances of wire detachment from the terminals in a switch assembly occur, and cause switch failures. Furthermore, once the prior art stamped metal terminals are assembled to their respective wire leads, the terminal and wire assembly so formed is difficult to assemble into the switch housing, and this is especially so in the design of a three-wire switch. Also, the terminal and wire assemblies can become very tangled in the assembly line containers and cause an inherent delay and loss of production assembly time, due to the time it takes to untangle the same. The aforedescribed stamped metal terminals also have an inherent problem of milli-volt drop, during the operation of push-button switches employing such terminals, resulting in low efficiency switches. The prior art use of fragile stamped metal terminals also requires the use of various types of locating pins in the switch housing, to restrain them from movement in the switch housing, and maintain their position in the housing.